New Orleans Saints secondary bracing for Peyton Manning

The New Orleans Saints defensive players haven't been able to get the slightest bit of rest this postseason.

Ellis Lucia/The Times-PicayuneIndianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who passed for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season, has completed 67.5 percent of his playoff attempts for 623 yards and five touchdowns with an interception. They've faced future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Brett Favre and managed to come out on top.

"Peyton is the best, " Saints cornerback Randall Gay said. "He is the greatest, but luckily we played against two Hall of Fame quarterbacks. They didn't set our (playoff) schedule great for us defensive backs, having to face Brett Favre, Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning.

"But to win it you have to beat the best, and right now Peyton is probably the best to ever play the game. He's going to put it in places we can't reach. You can't get frustrated, you've just got to go out there and compete and battle, because he is battling with you the whole game. No lead is safe. We have a big challenge ahead of us."

The Saints have done well against their first two challenges, getting big hits on the quarterbacks and forcing turnovers. The Saints have three interceptions in their two playoff games.

Now the Saints hope the past can be a sign of things to come in the Super Bowl.

If nothing else, they said, facing Warner and Favre prepared them for playing against an elite quarterback.

Manning, though, is at the top of his game, having passed for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season. He also has completed 67.5 percent of his playoff attempts for 623 yards and five touchdowns with an interception.

"We went against two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, now we are going against a third, " Saints linebacker Scott Shanle said. "Obviously, this offense revolves around him more than the other one. You can argue that Kurt Warner had that offense clicking, but as for what Peyton does as audibling and deciding what his team is going to run, I don't think there is anyone else like him in the league."

He rallied the Colts back from an 11-point first-half deficit, becoming the first player with seven 300-yard postseason games, breaking a tie with Warner and Joe Montana.

But much of his work is done before the ball is snapped, that's something for which neither Warner nor Favre could prepare the Saints.

In practice this week, several Saints players have reminded their teammates not to pay too much attention to Manning making audibles at the line of scrimmage.

Often, trying to keep pace with the constant gyrating is fruitless.

"I think the mistake is trying to listen to, or trying to guess what the various code words would mean, " Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "I think the key is alignment assignment and knowing with each play you call on defense, your responsibility on defense and just executing your job. Obviously, it's a lot easier said than done.

"Not only is Peyton on top of what he wants to get to, but you can see that same awareness with the receivers in Dallas Clark and the running backs. It's a team that's very intelligent, very smart as well as talented, and at times they make it look easy."

That's what makes Manning special, several Saints said.

"The biggest thing for him is the ability to change the play, " Shanle said. "A lot of teams have audibles, but he has everything at his disposal. If he wants to pull something from deep in his playbook, they have it all. That is what makes defending him tough."

What also makes slowing the Colts' offense difficult is the array of weapons at Manning's disposal.

The Colts also feature wide receiver Reggie Wayne, a former John Ehret star, who led the team with 100 receptions for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns. Clark, a tight end, is another weapon, having caught 100 passes for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns. And receiver Austin Collie had 60 catches for 678 yards and seven touchdowns.

But in the playoffs, Pierre Garcon has emerged as the top pass catcher, hauling in 16 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown.

But it all starts with Manning, and the Saints know this. They've already had a couple tune-ups to get ready for the Super Bowl matchup.

"He's a quarterback that has been successful getting rid of the ball, not allowing sacks, putting the ball where it is supposed to be, leading his team in the right audibles and situations to be successful, " Saints cornerback Jabari Greer said. "Hopefully, we will be able to be patient and realize that they are a good team and they will be able to make plays, but when the opportunity comes we have to be able to capitalize off that."

Nakia Hogan can be reached at nhogan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.